Wall and Floor Tiling Advice for Kate the Mate

[Gazzer]

Good point, how many mixing buckets do you throw away though lol, unless it's holed, speculation on all parts, are they there yet Kate / Have you tried removing a tile and asking what was used ?

Well I dont throw any buckets away unless holed or broken but these people may be lazy......yes they are lazy.

 

[Gazzer]

looks like he's not trowelled onto the walls either, tut tut! It's a sub standard job Kate, don't pay until it's done right.

Come on Doug put your specs on....clearly troweled ... :lol:

 

[Alan.P]

Well no word but Kate is showing as still viewing this thread, so either she is talking to the 'fixer' or they are reading this, ....................

 

[Gazzer]

Ok if they are reading this then ..........rrr:rrr:rrr:rrr:rrr:rrr:rrr:rrr:

 

[Kate the mate]

It's done. Phew. It took quite a long time for him to go. I first of all told him I didn't want him to continue with the job today, that I had a number of issues that I needed to address. I pointed out all the areas that I thought were wrong, he challenged most of it, didn't give a proper explanation as to why the walls hadn't been properly marked out. I said I had been most concerned when he left 'a young carpenter' to do the work when I was expecting a professional tiler.

He agreed and apologised for that. He asked why I hadn't complained yesterday. I said because he wasn't here yesterday. He said he thought I was happy with what they had done. I said it was more worrying that he was happy with what he had done. I pointed out all the uneven grout lines, where some where thick and some were thin and he said it was more to do with the tiles than the tiler. I told him I wasn't stupid and that I can tile a wall, it just so happens that I didn't want to tile this bathroom as I wanted it to look fantastic and what I had got was a worse than DIY job. He disagreed that it was that bad but agreed there was room for improvement.

There were long silences where he just stared at the tiles. Then he asked for an opportunity to put it right. I said no, I had no confidence that he could put it right and I just wanted to get the tiles off the wall and start again. He asked more than once if he could do the job again but I said I no, at the moment I wasn't going to agree to that. I suggested he just took his tools and go but it took ages for him to do that. He just stood his ground.

I said to the young lad, 'do you think this is a bad job?' He said 'I'm not experienced enough to say' to which I replied 'why was he left in charge of the job then?'

He started to get a bit cross towards the end and said I would be bad mouthing him around the effing town, and I said I wouldn't. I just wanted to bring it to a closure. He said he hated to think of leaving a customer dissatisfied and, again, asked if he could put it right, but I said I would need to discuss with husband as at the moment I was in no mood to carry on.

So, at the moment the loo, basin and shower are not installed and the tiling is dodgy. Should I take the tiles off myself now do you think? Without the thought of you backing me I'm sure I wouldn't have managed this, especially on my own, so thanks everyone.

 

[Kate the mate]

Sir Ramic, when he told me he didn't know what I was talking about I said 'maybe not, but the guys on the tiling forum do and I've shown them the pictures and asked for their advice.' He wasn't happy about that. I hope he doesn't read this thread.

 

[Alan.P]

Well done for standing your ground, very good points put to him with no come back of any worth, as for the tiles and getting them off the walls, what tools have you got, a scraper, trowel, bolster, just try and see, let us know what you use and the outcome of trying 1 or 2 tiles, we can advise from there, good luck.

 

[Kate the mate]

Yes, I have all of these tools, I'll go and see what I can do. I'll photograph all of it first so I have a record.

 

[jay]

go and have a coffee or tea first and relax or settle the nerves

 

[Gazzer]

I am not sure how this will all work out ! Having not given him the opportunity to put the work right may not look good in court ( should it proceed that way) Has any money been paid ?
I would think the best way would be to reach an agreement with this guy and yourself before you take the tiles off.